Scam calling

[CryptocurencyKing]

Scammers don't rest, why should you?

When it comes to scam and scammers, increased awareness is what we do and your alertness is all that could save you from the bates on the hook of these peasants. Scam calling, should I take the call... yeah, I did take the call!

I got a calk calk an anonymous individual with the cell phone chip number xxxxxxxxxxx a few weeks back pleading and requesting that I should help send him the OTP (one time password) that was just sent to my phone. I was shocked at this request but then, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt and as such, a allowed him to explain himself so I proceeded to ask him some questions as a means of verifying what was at play. So I asked why would I do that? He responded that, he was in the process of a registration on an online portal and mistakenly did input my contact in place of his due to some likely similarity to mine and it was just a digit difference to have made the error happen and that I should please help him out. Funny enough, he sounded genuinely, seriously trying yo get my compassion up and in that instant explore it but, I was glued to my suspicion and gave non. How about it, let's do a quick analysis on the story so far and pick put some silent details.

Phase One Analysis
1. It always starts from an unknown pretending to share something in common with you.
2. Scammers always play the vulnerable in order to draw your compassion and explore your vulnerability.
3. Stressing them out by pushing on, watching out for claims and listening to silent details is a key to detecting this trick.

Let's get back to our story and see how it went. Story continues...

I further enquired and even made some harmless suggestions if he could just restart the whole process of verification and this time, input his correct details not to mention his cell phone chip number. He replied that, it was the last phase of a series of steps and that what was done amidst some uploaded documents can't be undone as it would create some discrepancies and error in the application. He continued to beacon on me with his endless pleas for help and that he was running out of time coupled with the fact that, I know how an OTP works, having a time frame for code expiration. This scammer was doing all he could to make me compassionate and anxious but I knew there was something fishy about this guy and his continued pleas. One thing that added me to stay strong is with the fact that, an exposed identity is a loosed end. It might not be used to harm you immediately but at the opportune time, you would still suffer its stints. I then thought to myself on some claims he has made and beginner to cross examine them. He claimed that our cell phone chip numbers were similar and slightly different by a digit so, I simply asked that he calls me with that number (Mind you, some smart scammers might just alternate ther cell phone chip numbers by a digit before putting out this trick but then, they've got to have something on you first for a target and that's what makes this trick a bit more difficult for them. Though, in this particular incidence, I knew there was no way in hell I was going to give up the OTP). Upon making this request, he claimed that he had no airtime on the cell phone chip number, I requested that he do me a WhatsApp voice or video chat with the supposed contact, he responded that, it wasn't a WhatsApp registered contact. At this point, indeciede that, i was done playing his games, besides, the time frame for the OTP has expired though, should I have taken his bate, he would have simply done a resend code but sadly, I didn't. Instead, I went on for some confrontation and accused him of being a scammer, he disinclined. I pressed on to that, ibwas going to take things up and rral serious with his cell phone chip number with the authorities, that he was out of luck and that I was a highly placed individual and he has stepped on the wrong toes. He simply muttered a curse and ended the call.

Phase Two analysis
1. Refuses to restart registration and other suggestions. Mind you, fresh registrations can always be undone. The exception is the change of details previously verified on the system otherwise, its just a step back and input the correct thing. I suppose his aim was to attempt a swap of my details. Thank goodness for OTP.
2. Examination of claims
* Similar cell phone chip number unproven to be true
* A fresh registration that can't be undone, how true is this!
* Lack of airtime, contact of value not registered on WhatsApp or have any means to its usage.


Lessons/deductions
1. Play the stressing the scammer out game, thats if your core is hard enough not to succum.
2. Be routeless and neve let your emotions get in the way.
3. Most scammers explore only the vulnerability you expose.
4. Be friends with suspicion and let curiosity lead the way.
5. Loosed ends are a potential target.
6. Your safety is solely dependent on you.

Scammers never sleep on tactics. They are always there developing more and more, trying to add new schemes to q fading one. Why should you relax and not see an issue with that. Never live your values unprotected. A loosed end is a weakness, live non.

[1715085760]

1715085760

[1715085760]

1715085760

[1715085760]

1715085760

[1715085760]

1715085760

[Tim-BTC]

Thank you for sharing your experience and reminding us not to be fooled.

There are so many scams that I don’t answer calls from strangers now. The scammer will get some of my private information and defraud me of my trust. I almost got caught last time.

[UserU]

That was a good lesson but still, the best course of action is to simply hang up the call if you're unsure.

Or install a caller ID app like TrueCaller which will highlight any potentially spammy/ scammy call before you swipe to answer. A lifesaver.

[DdmrDdmr]

That was a good lesson but still, the best course of action is to simply hang up the call if you're unsure. <…>

That’s what I do. If I’m not expecting a call from a probably unknown number, I chose to ignore all calls that are unidentified, and then proceed to search for the caller’s number to see what comes-up. More often than not, the phone call comes from a reported number belonging to a scammer or spammer, and it’s simply not worth my time engaging in a conversation.

Attending to them and engaging in a conversation even if you’ve got a clear idea of what they are trying to do can also, as per my experience, lead to the pain in the ass situation, where by a curtesy "fuckoff you so and so" on the call's receiver's behalf can lead to a long term season of calls just to piss you off.

[isaac_clarke22]

OP reminded me of those scambaiters in Youtube like Kit and Jim Browning.

One of the common tactics that scammers also do is the refund scam, not sure if this happened inside crypto, where they will claim that they are from popular companies like Amazon, Microsoft or even Geek Squad and you currently bought or subscribe to some random stuffs from their company and you have the option to refund or cancel them by calling their fake toll-free number and they will claim that they "accidentally" sent your bank account with too much money and you need to give them back that extra money through gift cards or sent through package but the former is commonly used. However the bank account was just edited through HTML to make it look like they sent too much money, and yes that scam will require them to have remote access to your desktop.

So yeah the lesson there is if someone calls or voicemails you and claims that they are from Microsoft, just go and hang up the call as large companies don't do that. Mostly seniors are the common target for these due to how some are uninformed of the dangers of letting someone getting remote access to your PC.

[UserU]

That’s what I do. If I’m not expecting a call from a probably unknown number, I chose to ignore all calls that are unidentified, and then proceed to search for the caller’s number to see what comes-up. More often than not, the phone call comes from a reported number belonging to a scammer or spammer, and it’s simply not worth my time engaging in a conversation.

Attending to them and engaging in a conversation even if you’ve got a clear idea of what they are trying to do can also, as per my experience, lead to the pain in the ass situation, where by a curtesy "fuckoff you so and so" on the call's receiver's behalf can lead to a long term season of calls just to piss you off.

Spot on. They might even try to sniff out one's info if he's/ she's not careful enough.

OP reminded me of those scambaiters in Youtube like Kit and Jim Browning.

One of the common tactics that scammers also do is the refund scam, not sure if this happened inside crypto, where they will claim that they are from popular companies like Amazon, Microsoft or even Geek Squad and you currently bought or subscribe to some random stuffs from their company and you have the option to refund or cancel them by calling their fake toll-free number and they will claim that they "accidentally" sent your bank account with too much money and you need to give them back that extra money through gift cards or sent through package but the former is commonly used. However the bank account was just edited through HTML to make it look like they sent too much money, and yes that scam will require them to have remote access to your desktop.

So yeah the lesson there is if someone calls or voicemails you and claims that they are from Microsoft, just go and hang up the call as large companies don't do that. Mostly seniors are the common target for these due to how some are uninformed of the dangers of letting someone getting remote access to your PC.

Lol, Kitboga. That grandma and the driving simulator gets me everytime

[Chikito]

Never put your main phone number on an online site. I don't know how offer on your country, In here my country, everyone can have many phone number (max 3 number) that can be used for dummy. I mean use a dummy number if that very important thing to write it down, If so have called you don't need to bring it up.

[pakhitheboss]

Never put your main phone number on an online site. I don't know how offer on your country, In here my country, everyone can have many phone number (max 3 number) that can be used for dummy. I mean use a dummy number if that very important thing to write it down, If so have called you don't need to bring it up.

Unfortunately, there have been a lot of instances in the past where the phone numbers were leaked from known companies databases. Hence it is advised to always have two numbers. One should not be shared with anyone and should be only used for specific things. The other one can be used for anything. Also, it would be safe not to share any of your phone numbers on public platforms. There are many websites that provide temp numbers that can be used in such situation

[GeorgeJohn]

Thank you for sharing your experience and reminding us not to be fooled.

There are so many scams that I don’t answer calls from strangers now. The scammer will get some of my private information and defraud me of my trust. I almost got caught last time.

You can skip or avoid scammers in different form, before someone is been scammed they most be a notification or interaction between both parties, the only method we can overcome them is through silent, because their is thousands of scammer in social media such as Facebook, Telegram, Instagram even in Reddit platform, so anyone you don't know or whatever is saying is not interesting you, you can block the person immediately knowing that is a scammer, some fall victim because they pay attention to them and with little opportunity they will penetrate you without hesitation, so the best option is to keep them in silent or block the user.

[rhomelmabini]

Sometimes they're worth my time though, like scam the scammers part. Been there especially on Reddit, telegram and discord but most of them do tend to lurk on telegram. Some of them are hot chick with a bikini or just goddess face, a guy in an office wearing that not-to-be dusted necktie and suit, a crypto YouTuber that probably been lost and saying "I have this service and it's worth it, hire me!".

I wouldn't buy such things these days but if I have enough time for a trolling process I'd gladly waste it for them so they wouldn't jump too fast to approach another victim. There are too many red flags about these guys/gals and they are just that lowlife scums that can't get a life in a legal way.

[CryptocurencyKing]

Of course, being silent or just refusing to pick let's say, a suspicious number or an unknown contact is one effective way to avoid being scammed. Then you look again, if you don't take the call, your kept on the sideline on what trick have been developed or adopted by these scammers.

* Ignore the call and the scam scheme prevails
* Take the call and expose the scam scheme and the scammer

It's of most importance to note that, before you take a call, be sure not to comply with what ever suggestion that was going to come off the scammer else, its not worth it. Just ignore if your not that cold and strong headed. There is one thing a scammer believes so heartily and that is, 'there is always a potential victim amongst the multitude, all it takes is to find that potential victim' and with that, they keep trying, numbers after numbers.

So, if you've got time, play along, waste both your times (it should be a spare time by the way, don't stress over it with useful time and energy) and the scammers resources (airtime) as well.
Remember, don't play, if you can't roll!

[decodx]

If you receive a call from anyone trying to collect a debt you are owed, hang up, or take the information to a law enforcement agency. Ask the person you are speaking with to provide their name and the name of the company they are representing. Be especially cautious of callers who try to intimidate you into making immediate payment or threatening to contact authorities or to cut off your electricity or telephone service. Those calling wanting money right away are likely scammers. If a company requests that you pay over the phone with a credit card or a prepaid debit card, it is a sign that they may be scamming you. Never provide personal or financial information, including your Social Security Number, to any caller who calls claiming to be from the IRS.

[Mpamaegbu]

OP, I like the fact that you wasted the scammer's time. It's a good way to go if you have the time to spare anyway. Most times, scammers don't even stay online that long. They want to cut to the chase or pretentiously drop the call on one in the middle of it so one could call them back. I have had several encounters with them. Believe me, most times it's greed and not paying attention that get people to fall for their obvious tricks. However, next time do send them the OTP they ask for by giving them 914419 or 9491520 (That's the numerical representation of "idiot" from the English alphabet 🙄)

[aysg76]

6. Your safety is solely dependent on you.

Scammers never sleep on tactics. They are always there developing more and more, trying to add new schemes to q fading one. Why should you relax and not see an issue with that. Never live your values unprotected. A loosed end is a weakness, live non.

The last point is the most intacted one as the whole and sole responsibility of your funds depends upon you and scammers are finding new ways to scam you and try to convince you in any possible manner but you need to be aware and have open mind for such calls.It also happened with me once as i listed my bike for sale and received a call from buyer and then the deal was on the verge of finalisation and he was also willing to give as much money I have listed it on without any inquiry which suddenly raised some doubt.Then he asked me to send some amount to his account as he wants to create a channel between us and give him otp afterwards and he will send full payment for the same.This made me sure that he is scammer and i asked him to do the same and he refused to do it.He tried to convince me but when he realised that it was not working he disappeared and never reverted back.I reported him to the official site and also tried to track the details but nothing much.So we can face such issues at any point but our safety lies with us and we need to be careful in this crypto market.

[Porfirii]

Lessons/deductions
4. Be friends with suspicion and let curiosity lead the way.

It has been already said, but I agree the best tactic is to be suspicious and, therefore, control your curiosity and ignore or hang up the call when in doubt.

Don't give them the opportunity: even if you are sure you won't take the bait, you can't be sure on where is the bait if you don't know the intentions of the interlocutor. The intention of the call could not necessarily be the one pretended, but to keep you online, divert your attention or who knows.

[zasad@]

There are a lot of such scams in my country too. If you are asked for a password, I usually say that the password is "fuckyou" dictating by letter.
Of course, there may be accidents or mistakes, then let these people contact technical support or write a statement to the bank that they made an erroneous payment.
You do not need to transfer data and passwords to anyone.

[sapnu]

It is very important that all of us, not only for the newbies, that we are knowledgeable when it comes to different forms of scams. We are all aware how scammers works, some of them are not that good and can easily be identified while some of them keeps on improving as their schemes keeps on getting discovered. If you would choose to disregard all of this, you will be prone and vulnerable to losing your money so always choose to be updated and be extra careful when making transactions with strangers and choose not to trust them easily.

[Mcphail]

Thank you for reminding.
 ;DI often receive calls from scammers. One time they say that I won a lottery, another time that I broke the law, and I responded in a unified way that you have the ability to come and find me at home.

[Findingnemo]

I would say don't even let anyone know about your personal number which is linked with bank accounts and other things that deal with banking and money, scammers via calls randomly target and wait for their prey who are old and illiterate who can't differenciate such things and you know still people are falling for old scam techniques while banks haven't taken any actions against them because the money lost is too small for a bank but for the individual it can be his life saving.

[aysg76]

I would say don't even let anyone know about your personal number which is linked with bank accounts and other things that deal with banking and money, scammers via calls randomly target and wait for their prey who are old and illiterate who can't differenciate such things and you know still people are falling for old scam techniques while banks haven't taken any actions against them because the money lost is too small for a bank but for the individual it can be his life saving.

Banks can't put much into the case as money lost is on the part of customers and they have said before hand that bank officials don't demand for any personal details of the client in any case like card pin or anything because they already have necessary details and ask to visit your branch.Moreover it's customer loss not banks so why would they care about it much.Why the hell people share any such details with scammers i don't know inspite of many fraudulent cases being reported everyday.Lack of awareness and greed are two main factors which keep these things going on.